DJBee

Hey guys!

I want to start web developing! Where the heck do I start lol!! How would you start learning to web develop if you were just starting off?

In your opinion, what is the best web development book for each type of programming? I'd like to learn web developing online and offline so I don't stress out my eyes too much.

Thanks so much!

ncwdavid

By developing do you mean XHTML and CSS? If you don't have those languages learned they are a must. They are the foundation of web development! If you put in a search into Google for "learn html" or "learn css" you should get lots of quality results.

Those two languages are for the basic web development but if you want to create dynamic websites (ones working with a database) I would recommend to learn PHP, again a simple Google search will bring up loads results. With PHP and a database you can create pretty much any sort of site you want!

Once you have PHP learned I would suggest you learn how to work with databases and Google will help you with finding free tutorials on this. MySQL in my opinion is one of the best and you need to learn the SQL query language to work with the database through PHP.

Learn these in order:

1. HTML
2. XHTML
3. CSS
4. PHP
5. SQL

Once you have all of those learned you can basically make any sort of website you like from an online store to social networking site. Also Javascript is another popular language but I would not worry too much about it right now, it's not as vital as the rest in my opinion.

HTML and CSS and very very simple and if you just put your head down and get learning with full concentration you should have it learned in no time!

I created a very quick site (just XHTML and CSS) to try and help people get started on creating a website here:

Create a free website

Goodluck.

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stutter

Great info ^ .. thank you!

DJBee

Thanks for the excellent post David.

I have a few more questions.

What is a database? sorry for the dumb question.......
And I heard about wordpress. I googled it but I'm sad to say I don't really understand it. Do you recommend using wordpress to make my websites? Do I still have to learn HTML XHTML CSS, etc if I use wordpress? What are the benefits of wordpress?

Lastly, what are the best books for learning HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP and SQL!

mholt

A database is basically a schematic organization of data. Most databases are just a bunch of tables: Database - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Tables are things you're familiar with. They have an X-axis, a Y-axis, and data in the cells that fall under these axes.)

WordPress is a content management system. You install it onto a server and it makes it easy to display content, mainly for blogs. You can use WordPress or you can build the site on your own. Start with building your own site, I think. And yes, you'll still have to know XHTML/CSS to customize WordPress. WordPress makes cookie-cutter sites quickly and relatively easily, but can be a MAJOR pain to customize extensively. Just learn how to build your own and use that knowledge to customize any WP install you do (if any at all).

I learned PHP/MySQL from this book (except I had an older edition): Amazon.com: PHP and MySQL Web Development (4th Edition) (Developer's Library): Luke Welling, Laura Thomson: Books

CSS Tutorial - Learn CSS the Proper Way also has a nice beginner's tutorial, but you should know (X)HTML first.

Good luck!

djdeth

Does it need to be a book? Tutorials - Online Training - lynda.com is great.

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Halycon.Prime

Why learn html and then xhtml, just learn xhtml.

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DJBee

Are you saying I can just learn xhtml and skip html? So by learning xhtml, i'll be learning html as well?

mholt

XHTML is an attempt to blend HTML and XML for use in web applications (e.g. AJAX stuff) and more standardized web development.

HTML 4 is not highly appreciated currently as HTML 5 will be coming out soon, but it's also not highly appreciated currently because no browsers support it yet. So XHTML seems to be safe ground; learn how to code XHTML Strict and you should do very well.

shockie

yes, you might as well just learn xhtml. if you're having difficulty then try going with html first, and once you get it, the jump to xhtml shouldn't be that hard... although you'll have to "unlearn" some of the bad habits developed from learning html, lol.

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DJBee

Oh I see. perfect, thanks. Just one quick dumb question, how is xhtml different from html? I know xhtml is a blend of html and xml, as a user stated above, but I don't know what that means.

Also, I can make web pages using xhtml instead of html right?

mholt

Yes, you can. They're basically synonymous except that XHTML is "extensible" (hence the X) and is easily usable with Javascript. In fact, if you were to build an AJAX application, it's basically required, to work well, that it manipulate an XHTML document -- not an HTML document. XHTML defines and very well-formed structure, whereas HTML just kind of lays things out and styles them, which is generally bad practice when developing applications. You want to separate your style from form from layout from logic and functionality.

Code in XHTML -- if you decide to add AJAX or even basic JS stuff to it you won't have a problem. But if you code in HTML then decide to add Javascript later you'll have to convert to XHTML.

Consider this scenario, too:

One of our products gets quite a few support tickets because people don't follow instructions. We sell a Javascript library that users can add to their site to add instant address verification (called LiveAddress) when the user types their address in a form at checkout.

Some people use HTML but the AJAX stuff requires XHTML. It just doesn't work with HTML declarations and markup. For example, we require users to add this:

<?xml version="1.0"?>

for IE6 compatibility, and then this doctype:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

So as you can see, XHTML has numerous advantages at the current time.

By the way, this is an excellent page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XHTML

Edit: How come when I edited this post to add the Wiki link, the "Save" button said "Vote Now"???

SeanPreston

Tizag.com is a awesome place to start.

It's also a good idea to think of the most complicated project possible, myn was a holiday rental site. This helped me learn php within a few weeks and improved my coding skills a lot.

I never finished the project due to time, but I can now call myself a PHP programmer

Sean

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prinkal

According to my perception you shoul learn first HTML then go for xTML because after HTML you should easy to understand the XTML and its not the full and final thing about web development it is the basis you know is a wide field and if you concern some book then go on internet and you will find lot of about it there.

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mholt

Um, prinkal can't even spell it. I would be cautious taking advice from sources like that.

~ The 34 Year Buzz!!

This is one of the best PHP/MySQL books which you will ever find anywhere.
PHP and MySQL by Example (not an affiliate link)

Enjoy

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andrew.machado2009

Start with HTML.
If you are concerned with designing, then start with HTML and CSS or if you are just concerned about functionality, starting journey with HTM will do.
PHP is the most extensively used programming language for Web Development. After you are comfortable with HTML, PHP will accelerate your journey.
Thanks

Sheikh Ahsan

PHP and SQL but XHTML are also good.... its your way of style that where you want to start from!!
Cheers!

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RandyB

You might also consider learning a language like Python, depending on your goals. For example, I believe Google has a framework for web applications based on Python.

Good luck!

allby

here you can learn PHP very easy with video tutorials:
php Tutorials

djdeth

I have deleted the flaming posts. I don't suggest doing that again.

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~ The 34 Year Buzz!!

I took a closer look at the reviews, and people say the book is full of errors.
(Still has a great cover photo with large dolphins...)

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